>>”Nonsense! You handled yourself well in the face of danger and nearly killed that man!”

"Yeah that's not..." Javier felt a little faint at the thought. He wanted the shooting to end. To protect the children, with force if necessary. But killing...

>>”if it makes you feel any better, I too have trouble with them. I’m still new to this century and it’s hard to tell what guns are the ones that hurt and the ones that don’t.”

"ALL of them hurt!" Javier pointed out. He was not bulletproof. He knew that. He was tougher when he used his powers, but... definitely not bulletproof.

>>”Very well, I shall draw the fire! Do what you can to aid me and we shall defeat these fiends with ease! What say you?”

"Um..."

Hercules threw himself into battle, taking more bullets. Javier stayed back, at a loss of what to do. The driver was ushering the children off the bridge in the cover of the cars. He just needed to keep them safe...

A shot rang out. Javi jumped off the bus just in time. Someone was still shooting in his direction. Javi swore, and kicked out at the car between him and the shooter. The car slammed into another car, which slammed into the shooter, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there.

If his war cry wasn’t enough to gain the robbers attention the club would have as it zoomed into their group finding it’s intended target, the mortal who ripped the back door of the armored vehicle and launched it at them. He caught the weapon, an impressive feat alone but didn’t collapse under it’s weight? Smiling at the man as he flew further into the armored truck and out to the other side. Something the prince of power was impressed by. Would he be a worthy challenge?

Hercules’s hand twinged as a knife deflected off of it. The weapon nor the man behind it had enough strength to penetrate his hide. Few did. ”HA! Still some fight left in you!?! Good!” Hercules roared throwing him into the nearest group of men sending a handful of them tumbling forwards, gather the others attention in doing so.

”I’m glad I finally have your attention!” Hercules charged forward making sure to move as needed so none of the robbers could aim their shot. It wasn’t his typical strategy in battle but for the sake of his masters and Javi he needed to do what he could to reserve some of their power. This was not how he would fall.

”Such toys! Come at me like men!” Hercules roared grabbing the nearest gunman and spinning sending the man flying into a windshield. ”You not have the time to focus on anything else! The slayer of Titans, challenges you!”

The fight, eventually, was over. Hercules tossed men around like dolls, bullets ran out, and the few gunmen who were not unconscious on the ground had been apprehended by the arriving special forces. The children were safely off the bridge. Javier, having punched a few attackers, knocking them across two lanes and several vehicles, was currently throwing up behind a truck.

It had been a battle. Not a brawl, not a skirmish, but an all-out battle, something the glowing man named Hercules was clearly very familiar with. Javier wasn't. He still couldn't quite believe that he had not been shot. Oh god. Had he been shot? He stood up, wiping his mouth with a tissue, checking his body over. Maybe he was shot and he just couldn't feel it from the shock?...

The largest of the men finally collapsed under godly his strength, he was a worthy adversary but resorted to dirty tactics. ”Come challenge me again once you are released, I care not for partners in crime but you... you have great potential!”

Wiping his hands from the battle he looked around and found Javi The Strong who seemed to be dealing with the battle his own way. Hercules slowly approached trying to gauge how he was doing before speaking. It was that was clear he was still new to battle. ”Well done Javi The Strong! You handled yourself well!” Hercules roared in laughter trying to bring the man back to the present while patting him on the back then putting his hand on his shoulder.

Green eyes tracked his ally’s body once again as the man clearly wasn’t sure if he was wounded. Hercules didn’t see any shaking the man gently (yes even the Son of Zeus could be gentle when he needed to). ”Friend, look at me!” Hercules bent his head in a little, ”You seem to be unharmed. Still reliving the battle perhaps?”

Police lights and sirens brought the demi-god back from trying to console Javi The Strong. ”Shall we go reassure the children?” Hercules asked knowing that the police would have questions. All in due time of course. The god’s glowing faded till his tattoo’s danced across his chest in the dim green that he had been branded with. It was his way to seem less threatening from the police.

Holding his hand up in a guiding gesture, ”Come!” before starting to walk back to the kids knowing they would want to know how things ended. They did promise to keep them safe after all.

Javier was jolted out of his worries by Hercules, who reassured him that he had done well, and that he was indeed not injured. Well, there was a miracle... Booker was going to flip out about it. Javier sighed, taking a few slow breaths before he followed Hercules off the bridge.

The children were fine. The police was handling the cleanup and the arrests (with help from paramedics). The cellphone cameras were out in force, which made Javier very uncomfortable. He stuck close to Hercules, who seemed to draw most of the attention just like he had drawn fire. They exchanged information with the police, but managed to get out of making statements right away. Javier was eager to get away from the chaos.

"That was... intense" he muttered as they finally got a break and managed to walk away. "Are you... sure you're not hurt? That was an awful lot of bullets..."

Waving and smiling to those who were wielding the cameras on their tiny phones Hercules stopped and struck a pose or two even calling his club to heft it over his shoulder. ”Aye! The battle was indeed intense. It was... wonderful wasn’t it?” Hercules roared with laughter clearly still reliving the thrill of battle only to strike another pose this time patting Javi on the back to alert him to another photo being taken.

”I was hurt, the guns they had were a little stronger than what I am used to.” he said looking down at his tatted up burly chest. All of the wounds were shut. No doubt his master’s were all fast asleep somewhere. It was probably more power than they could have handled. Maybe he should have focused on getting shot less. Serena wasn’t as strong as William in terms of raw power. He’d apologize to her later but was glad that he didn’t have to siphon magic from William as much as he used to during fights.

”It was, thankfully I am always in my masters care. It is my curse and my strength.” he flexed a little to make sure everything was in working order. It was. ”I have fought many battles over the course of my lifetime. This was not one where I feared for my life. I’m a god after all.”

Hercules put a reassuring hand on Javi’s shoulder and then made eye contact. ”You however, I am more worried about.” the thrall of battle was indeed intense no matter how small to those who have never experienced it before...

The behemoth was about to say more but was cut short as a convoy of vans with giant dishes on the top of the vehicles. It was the news stations. ”Come! Let us bask in the glory of victory! Maybe it will help!” Hercules finally said but was worried that it would have been too much for Javi the strong. Even gods had their limits.

A small woman ran up to them first with a microphone and shoved it in front of them. She stood to Hercules’s midsection, “Excuse me! Channel Four, Can you tell me what happened here today!?!” Hercules looked down to the woman’s shaking hand that tried to hold the mic to them. Hercules stooped down and smiled, ”But of course! Javi the Strong and I, Hercules! Had stopped a robbery, not only that but he saved a bus full of children from tipping off of the bridge! It was truly a marvelous feat, no?” he looked from Javi with a smile then to the small woman who was busy staring at the demi-god's midsection.

Hercules was fine. Bulletproof, somehow, thanks to... his master? Javi did not even want to know what that meant. He was just happy to be alive. Because he definitely wasn't bulletproof. Just lucky. For now.

>>”Come! Let us bask in the glory of victory! Maybe it will help!”

"No it won't..." Javi muttered, but Hercules already ushered him into the limelight. It was the last thing he wanted, but he already had a camera and a microphone in his face. He blinked, embarrassed.

>>“Excuse me! Channel Four, Can you tell me what happened here today!?!”

>>”But of course! Javi the Strong and I, Hercules! Had stopped a robbery, not only that but he saved a bus full of children from tipping off of the bridge! It was truly a marvelous feat, no?”

Javier bit his lips.

"It wasn't... we just happened to be there" he muttered. The reporter did not miss a beat.

"What luck, to have someone there to save all those children! I am told you put up quite the impressive fight. You both have super strength, is that correct?"

Aye! Lucky for the children and for us! Not so much for the would-be robbers! Ha!” Hercules boomed with laughter and patted Javier on the shoulder again who wasn’t enjoying the interview as much as the god. It was important to remind people that they were present and didn’t seem too exhausted after a battle. It encouraged those would do evil to do it less, unless they incur the wrath of their power!

”We have many talents! Super strength is just one of them!” Hercules said confidently but made sure he was not reveling too much about their abilities. While Hercules was fine with others knowing what he was capable of he knew his masters and others would like to keep his powers and how he got them under wraps.

”If I were alone the robbers would might have gotten away, sometimes even with super strength you can need help and it’s okay to ask! Team work makes the dream work!” Hercules said smiling and giving the camera a giant thumb up glad he watched all those motivational infomercials.

“.....” there was a pause from the reporter. She stopped looking at Herc’s chest and looked up to him and blinked once still not sure what she heard was what she heard. “Right... you heard it here first! Even heroes need some help! Channel Four. Back to you.” she finished her sign off and handed Hercules a card with her name and number on it. Before running off to interview the kids and the police about the incident.

Hercules looked to the card then back to Javi, ”Excellent interview!” knowing he’d hear about it from his masters. Both of which were proud no doubt. ”I hope we meet again Javi the strong! Until next time!” his tattoo’s lit up and the god leapt into the air towards the nearest building then leapt again until the bridge was far behind him.